32.

It had been their third day staying with the Drucker family and Ashe still could not get herself to sleep. The family had been very welcoming towards them. Fed them and gave them each their own large room. There had been a few reasons why she couldn't sleep. First and foremost it had been Alaric. She was worried out of her mind. To have no control over your own body must be terrible but to have no control and watch someone else commit atrocities using your body must be even worse. The second was their plan to free Alaric from his father's clutches or their lack of plan. Planning had never been their strong suit, they left that up to Alaric. Now they had to blindly place their trust in a commander who for all they know could have them killed. And said commander hasn't even shown up to meet them yet. Well, that was not true, Savia did mention she had met him. And the last thing that plagued her mind was Everard. While she was not close to the boy, the fact that he had been missing for three days is alarming. He did not seem to be someone who acted rashly…not true since he helped us. Ashe sighed into her pillow. Too much had happened for her to truly process everything. A rapid knock on her door had her scrambling out of her bed. She desperately wished it would be Alaric and that he would be back to normal. On the other side of the door had been Florian.

"We have been summoned," Florian said.

"By whom?"

"Great Lord Ivo."

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go." She hastily said as she pushed past Florian.

"Hold on a moment." Florian grabbed her forearm. "We should be careful, we do not know what he wants from us. He may be working for Jerial."

Ashe wriggled her way out of his grasp. "All the more reason to not keep him waiting." "Go on, lead the way."

Florian led her through the building to a large room that seemed to be a dining area. There was one large table with chairs all around it. There had already been five people sitting around the table. Savia had already been seated, she sat close to the exit far away from the other guests. The man sitting at the end of the table intrigued her the most, his eyes seemed to be burnt shut but that did not stop the feeling she got from him. He knew her every movement. Next to the man with the burnt eyes sat a woman who seemed to be furious. She had short blond hair not too dissimilar to Ashe's. She had a hard-edge to her look that Ashe could not pinpoint. On the other side to the seemingly blind man sat a man that was probably the oldest in the room. He had been bald and had a few wrinkles on his face. Closer to Ashe and Florian sat a young-looking man, he had looked somewhat familiar. All the new faces dressed the same way, they each had silver armour with green accents.

"Y'know you finally arrived, thought I had to search for you y'know," Ballack said as he walked up behind them. He closed the door behind the two leaving himself on the outside. The room was silent. Florian motioned for them to take a seat. They hadn't sat next to Savia choosing rather to sit closer to the armoured individuals.

"Now that everyone is present, we shall begin to introduce ourselves." The blind man started. "As you probably assumed, I am Great Lord Ivo. Well, it seems I have been dethroned." He went further to introduce his comrades. Once he was done, Florian spoke up. "My name is Florian, this is my sister, Ashe and that is Savia." Ashe attempted to keep a smile on her face. She noticed that the Great Lord had been smiling softly at them.

"Commander Orvyn had informed me that you three arrived in Adhu Aqua alongside Alaric. First, I would like to apologise for the truly terrible first impression of the city. And secondly, I would like to know how you all came to know Alaric." Ivo stated.

Before Florian could explain, she spoke. "He is my older brother. Please save him!" She knew it was a long shot but she had to try. Florian's hand found hers underneath the table.

Ivo nodded at her. "Trust me, I will do everything in my power to save him. But I need information. Now, from what I know Alaric's mother has…passed on and his father is well…you know. Therefore it is impossible for him to have blood relatives."

Ashe allowed Florian to explain the rest. He explained their upbringing on Diable Island, the sudden massacre of their village, their journey and restoration of Nezzagwyn, their rescue attempt at Versus and finally their operation to take down Chapman.

Throughout the entire story, most of the commanders kept their silence except for the one they had called 'Commander Drucker'. He had been making comments throughout and seemed impressed by their journey. Commander Beckett had to scold him for him to finally calm down.

"That was quite the journey. If not for the dire circumstances I might have detained you three on the spot." Ashe scowled at Ivo's comment.

"The man who raised you, you called him 'Priest Able'. He most probably abducted you from your parents just as he abducted Alaric." Ivo continued.

"That cannot be true he fed us, taught us and took care of us for years," Ashe said.

"I understand your position Lady Ashe but I am afraid it is the truth. Able Cornexia has been the most sought after man within the Zidal Empire for years. We believe him to be the leader of the Scaev." Ivo explained.

Can't be true. Everyone is lying. They have to be. Ashe had been trembling.

"If you have been living with Scaev it explains why Alaric has the ability to cast but enough about that. Can you tell me about Alaric?" Ashe assumed Ivo changed the topic because he could sense the downward spiral of the mood.

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She couldn't speak, she hoped Florian could but he hadn't answered the question as well.

"He is strange," Savia said. She hadn't been looking at anyone; she kept her eyes focused on the wall that was opposite to her. Ashe heard Ivo chuckle.

"In what way Lady Savia?" Ivo asked.

"I cannot figure him out. He acts like he is the most knowledgeable person in the room at all times and it infuriates me. It infuriates me because he is probably right. His disregard for himself is the worst thing, he seems to want to protect everyone besides himself. He also never speaks about his problems, always saying rather cryptic things. And lastly, he is the strongest person I know. He is nothing like his father."

Ashe was impressed, Savia had never spoken that much before. Her knowledge of Alaric also impressed Ashe, she hadn't known him long but she was accurate. Ashe smiled.

"Sounds like he has become a remarkable young man." Ashe noticed the slight emotion Ivo's face showcased. He seemed happy, even emotional. He must care for Alaric.

"Tell me, Lady Savia. What is your relationship with Alaric?" He asked.

Ashe stared at Savia, who did not seem fazed by the question.

"He saved me from my hardships. That is all. I plan to do the same for him." Savia answered.

The answer seemed to satisfy Ivo who nodded.

"You all are probably curious about Alaric's history with the city and my relationship with him."

"Yes, we are. Alaric would never tell us anything." Florian said.

"Very well, I shall explain." Ashe heard Ivo sigh before he continued. "Due to Adhu Aqua being a large city, it was separated into five districts. Each district is run by a powerful family. Burchard, Beckett, Hughes, Drucker and Gregory are the five families."

"Why is this important to Alaric's story?" Florian interrupted.

"This is important to grasp the story." Ivo simply said. "The Great Lord is always chosen from one of these families. The strongest caster. That is until my rein."

"You are not part of the five families?" Ashe asked.

Ivo shook his head. "No, I was born into a lesser family. Jerial had already been the Great Lord once I had been ten. Jerial had been the head of the Burchard family as well, however, he was a bit rebellious. He summoned me to the castle once I had turned eleven, asking me to become his pupil due to my talent as a caster. My family rejoiced and encouraged me to accept. That was how I found myself training under Jerial." "He was a cruel master, he beat me and scolded me but I dealt with it as I felt myself growing stronger. I thought he could not get any worse but then came the messenger from the Burchard family. They called for his marriage. Claiming he had to marry a woman from the other four families. Jerial did not take this news lightly. He was not a man of romance. Then he devised a plan. This was how I met Lady Argenta, Alaric's mother. She had been a mysur servant within the castle. Despite his cruel nature, Jerial seemingly had a soft spot for mysurs. He married her in secrecy and announced his marriage to his family. He kept the fact that she had been a mysur a secret, he claimed she had been from one of the lesser families. The only ones to know the truth were his commanders and me. Lady Argenta was a kind woman, despite her new position of power she treated us no different. She treated my wounds when Jerial got too violent within the training sessions." "The Burchard family had been furious with Jerial's decision and tried to assassinate Lady Argenta on many occasions. Jerial's power was unrivalled however and kept her safe. I had thought Jerial had grown closer to Lady Argenta but those were foolish thoughts at the time. When I was fourteen, Alaric had been born. The city rejoiced as if it was the second coming of Heinzidal. They thought the boy born from Jerial would exceed his father."

"But they did not know he had been a mysur," Ashe said.

"Correct. Lady Argenta had been protective of Al, only allowing myself and Jerial to see him. I had grown quite fond of the boy during that time. Once Al could walk and speak he made his first public appearance with his father. He was paraded around the city. People already called him 'The Future Great Lord'. Alaric had been intellectual at a young age choosing rather to read and study with his mother than practising swordsmanship with his father. Lady Argenta tried her best to protect him from his father, but there were times when Alaric could not escape his father's training. It was cruel, Al had just been a toddler and Jerial had…"

Ivo did not have to continue, Ashe understood.

"Lady Argenta had been furious, I had never seen her that distraught in my life. That was when Jerial started to target her. All I could do was comfort Al through it all."

"One night when Al was five, Adhu Aqua had been attacked. Scaev, who appeared seemingly from thin air, was murdering the citizens. Jerial had ordered me along with the rest of his commanders to resolve the fight. At that point, I had already made my name as the second strongest caster in the city. I should have realised Jerial's odd actions. He had been someone who loved battle, a man that was forged on the battlefield. For him not to join the battle should have been questioned. That night as I returned to the castle, I found Lady Argenta had been killed. A dagger had been placed through her chest. Alongside her had been my master's body. He had no wounds but all the colour from his body was gone. He had turned into a husk. But finally, one person was missing from the castle. Little five-year-old Alaric had not been seen ever again."

"And the aquians blamed Alaric?" Ashe asked. There had been venom in her words.

"The people were looking to blame someone for the deaths of their loved ones. His sudden disappearance was the perfect excuse. I am not trying to defend the people, I am just asking for you to understand them." "With the loss of the Great Lord, the city was desperately looking for a new leader. What I hadn't known at the time was that Jerial had adopted me, causing me to be a member of the Burchard family. This had made me eligible for the position as I was the strongest caster in the city at the time as well. The tragic death of Great Lord Jerial and his wife Lady Argenta and the disappearance of their son Alaric became the catalyst for my ascension to Great Lord at nineteen years old. I had never felt like I deserved it and I had continuously searched for Alaric for the past sixteen years. I had not suspected him to turn up on my doorstep."

"If you truly cared for him, you would've found him," Savia said. Ashe saw the scowl on her face.

"Being the Great Lord there had been many-" Commander Beckett had tried to interrupt but Ivo waved her off.

"You are correct, I should have tried harder. That is the cold truth that I have to bear. That brings us to the current situation…but it seems the night has already gone too long. We should continue our discussion in the morning.” The commanders got up from their seats and left the room. Savia was about to leave when Ashe’s words halted her.

“Thank you, Savia.”

“I haven't done anything yet.” Her voice went back to the whisper.

“Your words meant a lot. I’m sure Alaric would’ve appreciated it.”

“He’d better.” Savia left the room. Ashe and Florian left shortly after.